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Interview: The Van T’s

Grungy and Libertine-like live shows; the Glasgow fourpiece are your new favourite band.

The Van T’s are a marriage of heavenly harmonies and hellish gut-busting guitars. We were intrigued by the release of 2016’s ‘A Coming of Age’ EP and captivated by this year’s ‘Fresh Meat’. In preparation for their biggest gig in London to date we thought it opportune to grab them for a quick Q and A about their beginnings, influences, year so far and what the future may hold.

Listening back to the singles you’ve released, as well as 2016’s A Coming of Age EP one thing that hits me is how tight you guys sound. How long have you been playing together?

Myself (Hannah) and my sister Chloe have been playing and writing music for around four years. The Van T’s have been playing together with the current line-up for around two/three years now.

I think that dual vocal attack of Chloe and Hannah really sets you apart from a lot of other bands and it sounds fantastic on the likes of ’35mm’ and ‘No Man’s Honey’. When and how did these harmonies happen (are they though practice, or is it just something you both knew you had)?

I think with myself and Chloe being twin sisters, it’s something that comes completely natural to us, however practice does make perfect and I guess we have tried perfecting our harmonies through practice.

You describe yourselves as ‘everything you ever wanted from a 90’s dream’ and from your sound I get a real Veruca Salt, Hole vibe. Would you say these are your main influences and which other bands have inspired you?

In the last couple of years a number of female or female fronted grunge bands seem to have really taken off (I’m thinking of Hey Charlie, Honeyblood etc.) Do you listen to these guys, or are your tastes more eclectic?

All great bands, mon’ the women! We have diverse tastes, the gender of the members of bands/artists I listen to aren’t even relevant.

June saw the release of ‘Fresh Meat’. Although it stays true to your grungy sound, I think it sounds like it has elements of noise rock, possibly psych in it. Do you think it is a slight change in style for you guys?

We like to create different sounds when we write and record, we never set out to create a certain style though. What we end up with is what we end up with, those are good styles to note though, thank you.

I love the video for ‘Fresh Meat’, what was it like making it?

It was a long, long day! We had to strip down completely for it which was fun. Myself and Chloe sat in a bath of Milk and Fake blood at hours on end. Great video though, very happy with it, Tim Courtney did a great job!

How has your 2017 been, and how was the experience of opening for the likes of Wolf Alice and the Jesus and Mary Chain?

It has been busy! We want it to be even busier next year! We were lucky enough to pretty much open for our favourite bands, both gigs were great and got great responses from all the shows. Wolf Alice are the nicest humans on the planet. Their new albums is possibly the best album to come out this year so far.

Finally what’s next for you guys? I know you’ve got a run of tour dates coming up in October and November – are you looking forward to those, and is there some more music on the horizon?

Yes! We are looking forward to going south again, London, Stockton and Manchester! We are going into record a couple of songs soon which we are excited for also, so hopefully new releases very soon!

The Van T’s headline the Hoxton Square Bar in their biggest London date yet for Close Up Promotions on 11/10. Tickets are available here.